Insolvency practitioner

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In the United Kingdom an Insolvency Practitioner (usually abbreviated to IP) is a person specialising in formal insolvency cases. More often than not, such people have an accountancy background. A few active practitioners are lawyers, but it is not necessary to be qualified as either, with a direct entry route to the profession.

Insolvency is a regulated profession under the Insolvency Act 1986 and anyone who wishes to practice as an IP needs to hold an Insolvency Licence. Such licences can be issued by any of the following recognised professional bodies:

Insolvency Practitioners Association
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland
The Law Society
The Law Society of Northern Ireland
The Law Society of Scotland
The Chartered Association of Certified Accountants

Licences are now only issued upon satisfactory completion of a professional examination held by the Joint Insolvency Examination Board. Some individuals who were acting as insolvency practitioners before the profession was regulated hold licences to act as an IP directly from the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

There are currently about 1,700 Licensed Practitioners in the United Kingdom, not all of whom take appointments – many lawyers hold licences but do not use them to take appointments, preferring to advise other practitioners.

Proceedings requiring an Insolvency Practitioner

Under UK law, any of the following types of formal insolvency procedure must be dealt with by a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner:

References

Insolvency Act 1986 [link]

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